. 24/7 Space News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Scientists determine source of world's largest mud eruption
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 18, 2017


file image for illustration purposes only

On May 29, 2006, mud started erupting from several sites on the Indonesian island of Java. Boiling mud, water, rocks and gas poured from newly-created vents in the ground, burying entire towns and compelling many Indonesians to flee. By September 2006, the largest eruption site reached a peak, and enough mud gushed on the surface to fill 72 Olympic-sized swimming pools daily.

Indonesians frantically built levees to contain the mud and save the surrounding settlements and rice fields from being covered. The eruption, known as Lusi, is still ongoing and has become the most destructive ongoing mud eruption in history.

The relentless sea of mud has buried some villages 40 meters (130 feet) deep and forced nearly 60,000 people from their homes. The volcano still periodically spurts jets of rocks and gas into the air like a geyser. It is now oozing around 80,000 cubic meters (3 million cubic feet) of mud each day - enough to fill 32 Olympic-sized pools.

new study, researchers applied a technique geophysicists use to map Earth's interior to image the area beneath Lusi. The images show the conduit supplying mud to Lusi is connected to the magma chambers of the nearby Arjuno-Welirang volcanic complex through a system of faults 6 kilometers (4 miles) below the surface.

Volcanoes can be connected to each other deep underground and scientists suspected Lusi and the Arjuno-Welirang volcanic complex were somehow linked, because previous research showed some of the gas Lusi expels is typically found in magma. But no one had yet shown that Lusi is physically connected to Arjuno-Welirang.

The researchers discovered that the scorching magma from the Arjuno-Welirang volcano has essentially been "baking" the organic-rich sediments underneath Lusi. This process builds pressure by generating gas that becomes trapped below the surface. In Lusi's case, the pressure grew until an earthquake triggered it to erupt.

Studying the connection of these two systems could help scientists to better understand how volcanic systems evolve, whether they erupt magma, mud or hydrothermal fluids.

"We clearly show the evidence that the two systems are connected at depth," said Adriano Mazzini, a geoscientist at CEED - University of Oslo and lead author of the new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. "What our new study shows is that the whole system was already existing there - everything was charged and ready to be triggered."

Finding a connection
Java is part of a volcanic island arc, formed when one tectonic plate subducts below another. As the island rose upward out of the sea, volcanoes formed along its spine, with basins of shallow water between them. Lusi's mud comes from sediments laid down in those basins while the island was still partially submerged underwater.

Mazzini has been studying Lusi since soon after the eruption began. Two years ago, the study's authors installed a network of 31 seismometers around Lusi and the neighboring volcanic complex. Researchers typically use seismometers to measure ground shaking during earthquakes, but scientists can also use them to create three-dimensional images of the areas underneath volcanoes.

Using 10 months of data recorded by the seismometers, Mazzini and his colleagues imaged the area below Lusi and the surrounding volcanoes. The images showed a tunnel protruding from the northernmost of Arjuno-Welirang's magma chambers into the sedimentary basin where Lusi is located. This allows magma and hydrothermal fluids originating in the mantle to intrude into Lusi's sediments, which triggers massive reactions and creates gas that generates high pressure below Earth's surface. Any perturbation - like an earthquake - can then trigger this system to erupt.

"It's just a matter of reactivating or opening these faults and whatever overpressure you have gathered in the subsurface will inevitably want to escape and come to the surface, and you have a manifestation on the surface, and that is Lusi," Mazzini said.

Triggering an eruption
Mazzini and other researchers suspect a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck Java two days before the mud started flowing was what triggered the Lusi eruption, by reactivating the fault system that connects it to Arjuno-Welirang.

By allowing magma to flow into Lusi's sedimentary basin, the fault system could be an avenue for moving the entire volcanic system northward, said Stephen Miller, a professor of geodynamics at the University of Neuchatel in Neuchatel, Switzerland who was not connected to the study.

"It looks like this might be the initial stages of this march forward of this volcanic arc," Miller said. "Ultimately, it's bringing all this heat over toward Lusi, which is driving that continuous system."

Mazzini and other scientists are unsure how much longer Lusi will continue to erupt. While mud volcanoes are fairly common on Java, Lusi is a hybrid between a mud volcano and a hydrothermal vent, and its connection to the nearby volcano will keep sediments cooking for years to come.

"So what it means to me is that Lusi's not going to stop anytime soon," Miller said.

+ Watch a video of the Lusi eruption here

Research paper

SHAKE AND BLOW
Locals warned to stay away as Japanese volcano erupts
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 11, 2017
Mount Shinmoedake in southern Japan erupted for the first time in six years Wednesday, shooting a plume of ash several hundred metres into the air and sparking warnings to local residents. People were ordered to stay away from the volcano after it rumbled to life at 5:34 am (2034 GMT Tuesday) as Japan's Meteorological Agency said air blasts caused by the eruption could shatter windows. " ... read more

Related Links
American Geophysical Union
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SHAKE AND BLOW
US spacewalkers install 'new eyes' at space station

NASA May Extend BEAM's Time on the International Space Station

USNO Astronomers Measure New Distances To Nearby Stars

OECD calls for tourism to be more sustainable

SHAKE AND BLOW
DARPA Awards Aerojet Rocketdyne Contract to Develop Hypersonic Advanced Full Range Engine

ASPIRE Successfully Launches from NASA Wallops

Arianespace to launch COSMO-SkyMed satellites manufactured by Thales

New Zealand opens first rocket launch site

SHAKE AND BLOW
Russian Space Research Institute Announces July 2020 Date for Mission to Mars

ASU examines Mars' moon Phobos in a different light

Mars Study Yields Clues to Possible Cradle of Life

Another Chance to Put Your Name on Mars

SHAKE AND BLOW
China launches three satellites

Mars probe to carry 13 types of payload on 2020 mission

UN official commends China's role in space cooperation

China's cargo spacecraft separates from Tiangong-2 space lab

SHAKE AND BLOW
SpaceX launches 10 satellites for Iridium mobile network

Lockheed Martin Completes First Flexible Solar Array for LM 2100 Satellite

GomSpace and Luxembourg to develop space activities in the Grand Duchy

Private companies are launching a new space race

SHAKE AND BLOW
Understanding rare earth emulsions

Oculus unveils standalone virtual reality headset

New test opens path for better 2-D catalysts

Thales demos capability of ballistic missile tracking radar

SHAKE AND BLOW
Are Self-Replicating Starships Practical

New telescope attachment allows ground-based observations of new worlds

Biomarker Found In Space Complicates Search For Life On Exoplanets

The Super-Earth that Came Home for Dinner

SHAKE AND BLOW
Helicopter test for Jupiter icy moons radar

Solving the Mystery of Pluto's Giant Blades of Ice

Global Aerospace Corporation to present Pluto lander concept to NASA

Pluto features given first official names









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.